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GOOGLE FRANKENSTEIN: MACHINES TO CHOOSE YOUR NEWS Mon Apr 12 2010 08:15:34 ET GOOGLE CEO and Obama political activist Eric Schmidt declared this weekend that his machines will help decide what news you receive! News sites should use technology to PREDICT what a user wants to read by what they have already read, Schmidt told the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEWS EDITORS, where a few humans still remained in the audience. "We're all in this together." MORE Schmidt said he doesn't want 'to be treated as a stranger' when reading online. He envisions a future where technology for news editing could...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Dec. 24, 2009 – Mention “Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar” around a native Minnesotan in Iraq, and you’re almost guaranteed a glazed-eyed expression and rambling murmurs of longing. Volunteers in Minnesota show off a bucket of cookies over Skype to Army Spc. LaFena Washington Dec. 19, 2009, at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Benjamin R. Kibbey   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Say “10,000 cookies” right after, and you might need to find them a chair. Yet, that’s the number of cookies volunteers from several charitable and patriotic organizations –...

At the White House Holiday Party last night, an oddly shaped cookie grabbed my attention. Who knew that acorns were part of the traditional holiday fare? Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, noticed these earlier, as reported by Yeas and Nays, but it seems like they've made these in bulk. I wonder if they made voter registration cookies too?

Even in something as benign as a Christmas party, the White House simply cannot manage to stay away from the stupid. Most Christmas cookies are shaped like angels, wreaths, snowmen, Christmas trees, and other holiday items. But Fox News reported that at Monday’s annual Christmas party, the White House served cookies shaped like acorns... There are no reports of other White House cookies in the shapes of non-holiday themed inedible nuts from common trees. Whether inadvertent or deliberate, this is just bizarre...

Flash cookies placed by many of the most popular Web sites are being used to track site visitors, even going so far as to re-create http tracking cookies after they're deleted by privacy-conscious surfers. A new study released by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and other universites found that the Flash cookies, or local shared objects, are used on 54 of the top 100 Web sites, as ranked by Quantcast. The Flash cookies are stored in a different location than regular http cookies, and are not removed if you delete cookies from within your browser. Per the report,...

The Obama administration is proposing to scale back a long-standing ban on tracking how people use government Internet sites with "cookies" and other technologies, raising alarms among privacy groups. A two-week public comment period ended Monday on a proposal by the White House OMB to end a ban on federal Internet sites using such technologies and replace it with other privacy safeguards... Supporters of a change say social networking and similar services, which often take advantage of the tracking technologies, have transformed how people communicate over the Internet, and Obama's aides say those services can make government more transparent and...

Federal Websites: Cookie Policy During the Open Government Initiative outreach, Federal employees and the public have asked us questions about the federal government’s policy on cookies. As part of our effort to create a more open and innovative government, we’re working on a new cookie policy that we’ll want your input on. But before we get into that, let’s provide some context. In June 2000, the OMB Director issued a memorandum (M-00-13, later updated by M-03-22)) that prohibited Federal agencies from using certain web-tracking technologies, primarily persistent cookies, due to privacy concerns, unless the agency head approved of these technologies...

Executives at online-advertising giant Google are helping President Obama and Capitol Hill legislators get their messages out to the public, but they're facing nascent opposition from privacy advocates and small competitors who say Google is inappropriately using its presence on government Web sites to track users' political activities online. These critics say that Google, aided by the White House, is using "cookie" software and the popular goal of government transparency to boost its own revenues and to build a vast database of citizens' political attitudes. Google's expanding role in government is illustrated by the deals that Google struck with the...

Since we've all worked hard all week, It's time to kick back, relax, forget about politics and enjoy a nice full glass of iced tea or Soda. Enjoy

Just as is the case with the newspaper industry, it seems as though the organization behind the Girl Scouts hasn't fully grasped how to integrate the Web into its business model. After one enterprising scout tried promoting her cookie sale online, the Girl Scouts of America got wise and stopped the little operation because it was against its rules. Little Wild Freeborn, 8, of Asheville, NC, wanted to sell 12,000 boxes of the cookies so that she and her troop could get a free trip to Scout summer camp. After doing the door-to-door bit, Wild posted a YouTube video to...

She is bright-eyed, pig-tailed and resplendent in Girl Scout green and a multitude of merit badges. Wild Freeborn -- adorable and age 8 -- has caused considerable hubbub with entrepreneurial spirit and a little homemade video. "Help me help others. Buy cookies. They're yummy," little Wild says in her one-minute sales pitch for Thin Mints, Samoas and other traditional mainstays of Girl Scout cookie cuisine. The modest message included an online order form, was videotaped by her father, Bryan Freeborn, in the family living room in Brevard, N.C., and posted at YouTube.com But not for long. • Click here for...

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2009 – Deployed servicemembers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and Kuwait will not miss out on Girl Scout cookies this year, thanks to the troop-support group “Hugs for Our Soldiers.” Brownie Troop 61, from Duluth, Ga., display the Girl Scout cookies they plan to send to deployed sevicemembers as part of “Operation: Taste of Home.” Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The group’s first Girl Scout cookie drive was in 2004. Five years later, the group continues to partner with Gwen Lawrence and her Brownie Troop 61 to collect cookies for “Operation: Taste of Home.”...

It's been over a month since Greenwich Village baker Ted Kefalinos sparked outrage over his so-called "Drunken Negro Face" cookies, and the controversy will still not go away, despite his fumbling attempts to apologize. The New Black Panthers have been protesting on Saturdays outside his bakery, and the Secret Service paid him a visit because of his alleged remarks that "Obama will get he deserves, just like Lincoln." In a Villager article that can only be described as pure gold, Kefalinos says, "I get both sides. I get people who praise me and call me genius. I even got one...

Two Girl Scouts and their troop leader were robbed as they sold cookies outside a San Antonio store, reports say. The 9-year-old girls were packing up after hours of selling cookies outside a Walgreens in the city's North Side on Wednesday night when a man approached and stole their money, about $250, WOAI.com reports. No injuries were reported. "Both little girls are scared," the troop leader, who did not want to be identified, told WOAI.com. "And they've learned, firsthand, there are bad people out there."

(News 4 WOAI) Two little girls and their troop leader were robbed outside a North Side store Wednesday night. The Brownie troop leader became emotional as she told News 4 WOAI how she witnessed the thief steal from the two 3rd graders. "They didn't take it from me. They took it from my girls," the troop leader said. The 9-year-olds had set up and sold their cookies at the Walgreens in the Medical Center several times before, and everything had been fine. But Wednesday night, a man stole all of their hard-earned money. "We were finishing up our shift and...

Freeper Canteen:What Girl Scout Cookie Are You?   Today We Want To Know...What Girl Scout Cookie You Are Click here and take the quiz! At the last question, choose HTML, then submit, to get your answer. After you do so, please post your findings in the Canteen!   Have fun!

MYFOXNY.COM - Arnold Diaz's report about a pastry shop in Greenwich Village selling what the owner called "Drunken Negro Face" cookies generated strong reactions.

[UPDATE BELOW] At at a time when any decent baker should have been selling racially harmonious black and white cookies by the truckload, one Greenwich Village bakery popular with celebrities and shows like Sex and the City has outraged neighbors by selling a "Drunken Negro Face" cookie in, um, "honor" of President Obama. [Video below.] A shocked customer tells My Fox NY that Ted Kefalinos, proprietor of Lafayette French Pastry, asked her, "Would you like some drunken negro heads to go with your coffee? They're in honor of our new president. He's following in the same path of Abraham Lincoln;...

Beginning Jan. 16, Girl Scouts of the Moccasin Bend Council will be practicing Spanish as they ask customers to purchase the Dulce de Leche (DOOL-seh deh LEH-chay) cookies which means "candy of milk." Inspired by the classic confections of Latin America, the all-new Dulce de Leche cookies are rich with milk caramel chips and stripes and have a hint of cinnamon. This latest Girl Scout cookie adds an international flair to this year's Girl Scout Cookie Season. This new cookie also gives Girl Scouts a unique opportunity to celebrate Latin-American cultures and learn a little "Cookie Spanish" at the same...

I have had emails to 2 of my lists recently posting the same thing about Yahoo using web beacons. It makes it sound pretty concerning, saying they are tracking you where ever you go on the internet if you use any yahoo groups. I did a search, but couldn't find anything recent even on snopes. Anyone know what these are? Are they something to be concerned about? I tend to be skeptical, but still, I'd like to make sure. In part it says:Do you belong to any Yahoo groups because Yahoo is Tracking Group Members If you belong to ANY...